A gambler who murdered a friend to claim his identity and clear huge debts has been jailed and faces deportation. Ming Jiang was being hounded by creditors when he killed fellow Chinese national Yang Liu, 36. He then dumped Mr Liu's dismembered body in a suitcase near a lay-by in the Peak District.
Jiang, 43, was found guilty earlier at Manchester's Minshull Street Crown Court. He was given a life sentence with a minimum term of 33 years. As a foreign national, he faces automatic deportation from the UK. The trial heard Jiang used Mr Liu's bank and credit cards to withdraw thousands of pounds in the two weeks after the killing in October 2016.
Records from casinos in Manchester showed he had bought £178,000-worth of gambling chips and had accumulated losses of £273,000. He also reclaimed watches worth £16,000 from pawnbrokers and tried to sell Mr Liu's £220,000 apartment at Salford Quays.
Jiang murdered Mr Liu before cutting his head and limbs off and putting his torso in a suitcase, the prosecution said.
